NIFK14029U Motivation and Pro-Environmental Behaviour - Managing Change

This course focuses on ways to motivate pro-environmental behaviour change.

Individual and societal behaviours and values are inextricably linked to pressing global enviro-social challenges such as climate change and the decline in global biodiversity. Key questions addressed in this course include: How can humans – as consumers, producers, and members of diverse communities - be motivated towards environmentally-friendly behaviour? This will entail a range of actions, such reducing home energy consumption, regenerative practices on farmland, a greater use of bikes or public transport instead of cars, increased recycling, buying organic products, and participation in social/political movements. What are different strategies to achieve behavioural change, and what effects do the various changes have, both intended and unintended and at various scales?

This course builds on theories about motivation and behaviour, theories of change, real life cases and practical tools to initiate and sustain behavioural change among individuals, groups, and organisations.

The motivation and behaviour theories span studies of specific, individual behaviour (e.g. theory of planned behaviour), to macro level studies of how behaviour is shaped by societal factors like infrastructure, technology, economy, public discourse and media debate. Some theories approach human behaviour as shaped by economically-oriented and/or rational choices, while others expand rationality to acknowledge constraints and consider the effect of values, while others still focus on broader societal norms. Other theories focus on habits, emotions, and direct experiences as formative for behavioural change.

Contemporary interventions will be showcased throughout the course, such as political and grassroots campaigns and public sector schemes.

Based on real-life cases from private and public organisations engaged at various levels (municipal, national, global) on environmental issues and management, students will learn to apply these theories in the real world and become better equipped as global citizens and future policy makers and policy influencers, to formulate intervention strategies to achieve desired changes. Students are also expected to consider the implications of behavioural theories on policy practice. How do the different ways we conceive of human behaviour, enable or limit what becomes possible in relation to environmental behavioural change?